November 16, 2006

Bookin'

"Veni, Verdi, Vici," Time Out Chicago, November 16, 2006. Musicologist Philip Gossett's Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera demystifies the creation of critical editions of Verdi and Rossini's operas. Chances are, if you've heard a Verdi or Rossini opera in a major opera house, you've heard a performance of a score that Gossett had a hand in preparing. No dry academic, Gossett has gotten out into the real world of opera houses and seen how performers make the choices they need to in order to perform this repertoire faithfully. The story is in TOC's gift guide (99 cents on the newsstand!), and the book would make a perfect gift for that lover of Italian opera in your life. (Especially if that person can read musical notation.) An online excerpt of the book can be read here.